Apparatus for performing gym exercises, training and rehabilitation of muscular and articular groups

ABSTRACT

An apparatus ( 1 ) is provided to carry out gymnastic exercises, training sessions and rehabilitation of muscle groups and joint areas, the said apparatus comprising an elastic element ( 2 ) of a given length (L) arranged as a closed loop (B); two rigid handle pieces ( 3 ), tightly connected to the longitudinal elastic element and separated at a distance of one-half the length (L/2) of the elastic element, and arranged in such a way that they can be removed from such longitudinal element; and two gripping parts ( 4 ) deformable through compression, wherein each one of them is provided to wrap the respective handle piece ( 3 ) like a cover.

SCOPE AND PRIOR ART

The present invention relates to an apparatus to carry out gymnastic exercises, which has been designed and implemented in order to provide many advantages compared to other similar devices aimed at analogous purposes. The present invention is mainly focused on the field of Fitness, so that it may be used at gyms and for leisure, spare time and recreational activities, as well as for health-oriented purposes, at rehabilitation and physiotherapy centres, and even within the field of sports, since it may be used in training and high performance sports centres.

There are many machines and devices designed to carry out exercises of rehabilitation gymnastics intended for the limbs and extremities of the human body. This type of apparatuses are very costly from a financial point of view, but they are also very bulky and, consequently, hardly usable at household level; consequently, their installation is usually confined to gyms and rehab clinics.

Certain devices or means, that comprise elastic bands to perform exercises with the help of a door, are already known in the art. In this context, several devices based on a band made of a non-elastic material which completely surrounds a door or window can be mentioned, for instance, those disclosed by ES 1076225 U, ES 2325843 B, ES 1013657 U, ES 1018252 U and ES 238125 U. These systems have the disadvantage of the complications entailed by the installation of the bands, tie bars and pulleys, that are usually heavy and difficult to install or that may damage the door and widow frames.

Other devices do not use any fixed anchoring means (door or window). However, they comprise a plurality of components, apart from the elastic element to be longitudinally stretched, and their use involves a great complexity. Some examples of this type of devices are disclosed in documents ES 1031924 U, ES 2349711 T3 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,012,071 B2.

Document EP 0999879 B1 discloses elastic bands without any kind of handles or anchoring systems.

In short, it can be affirmed that the current state of the art suggests several solutions to perform gymnastic body building exercises, solving them in different ways, but none of them is similar to the present invention.

There is consequently a need to develop an apparatus or device which is simple to use and involves a low cost, so that it may be used at home, at the gym and at rehab centres, both for reasons of space limitations and to achieve a financial cost which does not involve a significant expenditure for users/patients and companies; furthermore, another object of the present invention is to develop an apparatus which allows to carry out different types of exercises with the arms, legs, back, abdominals, buttocks, shoulders, biceps and other muscle groups.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

On the basis of the previously described state of the art, the object of the invention is to provide an apparatus to carry out gymnastic, training and rehabilitation exercises, which allows to solve or, at least, alleviate the aforementioned problems. All based on the survey carried out by the inventors to define an apparatus of the type previously described, in terms of design, exercises, movements, material and resistance, taking the biomechanics of sports gestures into account and trying, from a functionality point of view, to group different muscle groups within a single exercise using the apparatus according to the invention, thus being capable of decreasing the energy expense of our body, thus obtaining a better quality of nutrition and providing oxygen to the muscle mass during the effort.

This objective is achieved through the characteristics indicated in claim 1. Other characteristics and advantages will become apparent from the description included in the dependent claims. According to the invention, an apparatus for the performance of physical gymnastic exercises is provided, which is characterised in that it comprises:

an elastic element of a certain length, forming a closed loop;

two rigid handle pieces, firmly attached to the longitudinal elastic element, separated at a distance of one-half the length of the elastic element, and arranged in such a way that they can be removed from such longitudinal element; and

two gripping parts deformable through compression, wherein each one of them is provided to wrap the respective handle piece like a cover.

According to an additional characteristic of the invention it is advantageous that the elastic element is provided as a tubular cord, with its end joined together to form the loop, through the joining means provided to be housed inside the handle pieces.

According to an additional characteristic of the invention, each one of the handle pieces is advantageously provided as a tube for the insertion of the elastic element, comprising a flange in each one of the respective ends.

Also according to an additional characteristic of the invention, each handle piece may advantageously be comprised by a tube portion and a plug portion, each one of them with a respective flange on its end, and arranged so that they may be coupled forming a single piece, by means of a pressure-type or threaded coupling.

Furthermore, according to yet an additional characteristic of the invention, each gripping part is advantageously provided with a sleeve which is tightly fitted between the flanges of the respective handle piece. In this case it is advantageous that the gripping part is arranged with ring projections uniformly distributed over its whole length.

According to another additional characteristic of the invention, it is advantageous that the connection means of the ends of the elastic element comprise:

a core piece, essentially cylindrical in shape, containing at least a ring projection at each one of its ends so that they can be tightly fitted by coupling them to the ends of the tubular elastic longitudinal element, as well as a centre ring projection which is used as end stop; and

a generally tubular gripping part, comprising semi-portions arranged to mutually fit together, with a series of semi-ring shaped notches inside each one of the said semi-portions, where at least one of the ring projections of each end of the said core piece is fitted, as well as the centre ring projection of the said core piece, when both semi-portions fit together.

According to another additional characteristic of the invention, the handle is advantageously provided with an inner recess where the connecting means are tightly fitted.

According to yet another additional characteristic of the invention, the elongation strain of the elastic element is preferably selected so that it can reach a value of 15, 18 and 20 Kilos. In this case, it is also advantageous that the elastic element may be coloured in different colours, depending on its stretch resistance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, when read in conjunction with the attached drawings, that show a non limitative exemplary embodiment where:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of the apparatus according to the invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B respectively show a perspective view and a longitudinal section of a handle piece for the device according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed fragmented view of the apparatus according to FIG. 1, which has been partly exploded.

FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively show different views of the joining means of the elastic element.

FIGS. 5A to 5D schematically show different examples of physical exercises that may be performed with the device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As it can be appreciated in the figures, the apparatus according to the invention, which is generally indicated by the reference numeral (1), essentially comprises an elastic element (2) of a given length (L) arranged in the shape of a closed loop (B), two rigid handle pieces (3), firmly attached to the longitudinal elastic element in a detachable manner, and two grip elements (4) deformable by compression, wherein each one of them is arrange to wrap the respective handle (3) as a cover. As it has been clearly shown in FIG. 1, the handle pieces (3) with their grip elements (4) are separated at a distance which is one-half of the length (L/2) of the elastic element and, as shown in FIG. 3, each grip element, respectively, has a sleeve shape, which is tightly adjusted between the flanges (30) of the respective handle piece (3), and comprise ring-shaped protrusions (40) uniformly distributed along its length, to facilitate its gripping by the user.

According to the invention, the elastic element (2) is provided as an elastic tube inserted in the handle pieces (3) so that it can be removed and replaced by another longitudinal element (2) which is similar, but has different physical characteristics, for instance, its stretch resistance.

To that end, and as it can be more clearly seen in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a series of connection means (5) have been provided, where the ends (20, 21) of the tube-shaped elastic element (2), are connected, so that the said elastic element may adopt the shape of a closed loop (B). As it will be explained below, such connection means (5) are arranged so that they may be housed inside one of the handle pieces (3).

Referring again to FIGS. 2A and 2B, it can be appreciated that each one of the handle pieces (3) essentially has the shape of a tube, so that the elastic element (2) may be inserted on it, and the relevant flange (30) has been respectively arranged at its ends. Specifically, it can be appreciated that each handle piece (3) respectively comprises a tube portion (31) and a plug portion (32), each one of them with the respective flange (30), that have been arranged to couple together, forming a single piece, by means of a pressure or threaded coupling, as it may be also appreciated in FIG. 3.

Referring again to FIGS. 4 A and 4B, it can be appreciated that the connection means (5) of the ends (20, 21) of the elastic element (2), comprise a core piece (50) which is essentially cylindrical in shape, with at least one ring projection (500) at each end, for the tight coupling of the connecting ends (21, 22) of the tubular elastic longitudinal element (3) and one centre ring projection (501) which is used as a stop between the said ends (21, 22); and a generally tubular gripping part (51), comprising semi-portions (510) arranged to mutually fit together, with a series of semi-ring shaped (511) notches inside each one of the said semi-portions, where at least one ring projection (500) of each end of the said core piece (50) is fitted, as well as the centre ring projection (501) of the said core piece (50), when both semi-portions (510) fit together. As it has been shown in FIG. 2B, the handle piece (3) is provided with an inner recess (32) where the connection means (5) are tightly housed.

As it has been previously mentioned, the elastic element is arranged within the handle pieces so that it can be removed and consequently, different elastic elements can be fitted, with different stretch resistances, according to the demands of the exercise to be performed and/or the individual characteristics of each user. Such tensions are preferably chosen to reach 15, 18 and 20 kilos. It is advantageous, from the point of view of users, when the elastic element (2) is coloured with different colours, depending on its specific stretch resistance.

In an exemplary embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, the elastic element (2) comprises a high-quality latex tube, resistant and durable, while the handle pieces (3) are made of a hard plastic material and the gripping elements (4) of a soft spongy NBR (nitrile-butadiene rubber) material. In an exemplary embodiment, the length (L) of the elastic element (2) is about 2,500 mm, and the handle pieces (3) are separated at approximately 1,250 mm, in other words, one half of the total length of the closed loop (B).

A set of elastic elements (2) is preferably provided, showing different stretch resistances, that can be exchanged with each other in the apparatus (1) according to the invention. Thus, for instance, the elastic element can be provided with a plurality of colour coatings, three colours, for instance, wherein one of the colours denotes a minimum stretch resistance value, a second colour denotes an intermediate stretch resistance value, and a third colour denotes a maximum stretch resistance value, for instance, as it has been previously mentioned, for values of 15, 18 and 20 kilos, depending on the demands of the exercise to be performed and the fitness level of the user. According to the invention, this elastic element can be easily replaced as desired, thanks to the removable configuration of the handle pieces (3) and the connection means (5).

Any person skilled in the art shall realize that changes may be introduced in the embodiment which has been previously described without departing from the inventive concept of such invention. Therefore, it will be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific embodiment described but it intends to cover any changes included within the scope of this invention, as it has been defined in this description, the attached drawings and the following claims. 

1. An apparatus to carry out gymnastic exercises, training sessions and rehabilitation of muscle groups and joint areas, the said apparatus (1) comprises: a longitudinally elastic element (2) of a given length (L) arranged as a closed loop (B); two rigid handle pieces (3), tightly connected to the longitudinal elastic element and separated at a distance of one-half the length (L/2) of the elastic element, and arranged in such a way that they can be removed from such longitudinal element; and two gripping parts (4) deformable through compression, wherein each one of them is provided to wrap the respective handle piece (3) like a cover; in which the elastic element (2) has been foreseen as a tubular cord wherein its ends (20, 21) have been joined together to form the loop (B) by means of a series of connection means (5) provided to be housed inside at least one of the handle pieces (3); and in which, the connection means (5) comprise: a core piece (50), essentially cylindrical in shape, containing at least a ring projection (500) at each one of its ends so that they can be tightly fitted by coupling them to the ends (21, 20) of the tubular elastic longitudinal element (3), as well as a centre ring projection (501) which is used to stop the said ends (21, 20); and a generally tubular gripping part (51), comprising semi-portions (510) arranged to mutually fit together, with a series of semi-ring shaped notches (511) inside each one of the said semi-portions, where at least one of the ring projections (500) of each end of the said core piece (50) is fitted, as well as the centre ring projection (501) of the said core piece (50), when both semi-portions (510) fit together.
 2. (canceled)
 3. Apparatus according claim 1, characterised in that each one of the handle pieces (3) is advantageously provided as a tube for the insertion of the elastic element (2), comprising a flange (30) in each one of the respective ends.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that each handle piece (3) is comprised by a tube portion (31) and a plug portion (32), each one of them with a respective flange (30) on its end, and arranged so that they may be coupled together, forming a single piece, by means of a pressure-type or threaded coupling.
 5. Apparatus according claims 3, characterised in that each gripping part (4) is provided with a sleeve which is tightly fitted between the flanges (30) of the respective handle piece (3).
 6. Apparatus according claim 1, characterised in that the sleeve-shaped gripping part is arranged with ring projections (40) uniformly distributed over its whole length.
 7. (canceled)
 8. Apparatus according claim 1, characterised in that the handle piece (3) is provided with an inner recess (33) where the connecting means (5) are tightly fitted.
 9. Apparatus according claim 1, characterised in that the elongation strain of the elastic element is preferably selected so that it can reach a value of 15, 18 or 20 Kilos.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterised in that the elastic element (2) is coated in different colours, depending on its stretch resistance. 